Fruit-stemmer.



No. 707,54. Patented Aug. I9, I902.

' J. A. NORTH.

FRUIT STEMMER.

- (Application filed Aug. 26,1801.)

(No Model.)

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gyszsiby No. 7o7,|54. Patented Aug. l9, I902.

J. A. NORTH.

FRUIT STEMMER. Application filed Aug. 26, 1901.)

(No Mudel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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UNITED STATES,-

"PATENT', OFFICE.

, JAMES '-A. NoRrrnoriLowRr CITY, MISSOURI.

.FRUlT-STEMM E R.

SPECIFICATION forming part Iretters Patent No. 707,154, dated August 191902.

Application filed August 2 6,1901. .Serial No; 73 360. (N model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES A. NORTH, a citi zen of. the United States,residing'at'Lowry.

City, in the county of St. Olairand' State of Missouri, have invented anew anduseful Fruit-Stemmer, of which the'following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for stem ming fruit, and has for itsobjectto provide an improved machine of this character whichis'especially adapted for use in stemming gooseberries.

It is furthermore designed to arrange for the convenient manipulation ofthe device, to facilitate thefeeding of the berries to the machine, andto insure the cutting of the stems from the berries without damaging thefruit,the stems being immediately discharged and the fruit carried tothe end of the machine, where they are discharged independently of thestems, thereby effectually separating the stems and the stemmed fruit.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinat .ter morefully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being undering ofthe end pieces 1and 2 and the. oppo stood that changes in the form, proportion, size,and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.-

Inthe drawings, Figure 1 isa central longitudinal sectional view of afruit-stemming machine constructed in accordance with the presentinvention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, the hopper being shown inhorizonsite longitudinal side pieces or bars 3 and 4:. In the-middle ofthis open frame there is located a rotatable spirally groovedfeed-roller 5, which has the opposite journals 6 and '7 whichare mountedin the respective ends of the frame. The spiral flanges formed-by thespiral groove have their outer edges grooved to form opposite cuttingedges, as will be seen by referencetoFigs. land 2. At that end of thefeed spiral which is adjacent to the end piece l there is provided anoperating crank-handle 8, applied to the outer endof the journal 6 formanipulating the machine. byhand. The spiralfeed device rotates.

within an'endwise-movable casing consisting of a bottom member 9 and anupper member 10, both members being bowed laterally to form asubstantially cylindrical casing, which is open at opposite ends. Thelower or bot-- tom section is formed of metal and has the oppositeoutwardly-directed longitudinal flanges 11,which are slidably supportedupon the respective sides of the supporting-frame,

and the top section is also of metal and has a corresponding flange-12to lie upon one of the bottom flanges, the opposite edge of the topmember being hinged to the other flange 11, as indicated at 13. Suitabledetachable fastenings 14 connect the flanges 11 and 12, whereby the topmay be thrown backwardly spiral feed-roller. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3,it will be observed that the bottom of the casing is in the form of agrating consisting of a plurality of cross-bowed bars 15, which havetheir opposite edges beveled to form 1 cutting edges 11 at the innersides of the bars,

which inner sides fit closejto the marginal edge -of the feed-roller, sothat by reciproeating the casing to move the cutting-bars thereofbackandforth across the cutting edges of the spiral feed-roller the fruit-stemswill be cut by a shear cut, so as to obviate damage to the fruit, aswould ensue through a pull on the stems.

upon its hinged connection to expose the For reciprocating theknife-frame there is provided a transverse or counterzshaft 16,

mountedupon'the oppositesides'of the'framev and located between the endpiece land the spiral feed-roller. The opposite-ends of this shaft areprovided with corresponding crankarms 17 ,that are connected to therespective sides of the knife-frame by means of the connecting rods orlinks 18, that are 'pivotally connected to the opposite lateralprojections 19 upon the casing. Any suitable means may be used fordriving the counter-shaft 16 from the shaft 6.

At the end 2 of the supporting-frame there is provided a hopper 22,which is supported between two uprights 23, rising from the frame, therebeing a cross-bar 2-1 piercing the hopper and connecting the uprights.The hopper has a rotatable conical bottom 25, which is provided with anupstanding journal 26, pivoted in the cross-bar 24, and a pendentjournal 27, mounted in a bearing upon the adjacent end piece, therebeing a beveled gear 28 upon the journal 27 and in mesh with a beveledgear 29 upon the outer end of the journal 7, whereby the conical bottomis rotated within the stationary hopper. A plurality of radialagitator-arms 30 are carried by the journal 26 for the purpose ofagitating the loose fruit within the hopper, and thereby cause the sameto feed freely to the spiral roller. The bottom portion of the innersideof the hopper is provided with a dischargeopening 31, which iscontrolled by means of an adjustable slide or closure 32, which has alongitudinal slot 33 for the reception of an adjustable fastening 34carried by the hopper. An open-bottom ed hood 35 embraces thedischarge-opening of the hopper and the adjacent end portion of thespiral feed device and is carried by the adjacent end of thesupporting-frame, so that as the berries drop out of the hopper theydrop downwardly into the spiral groove of the roller and are thencarried forwardly to have their stems cut off by the reciprocatoryknife-frame.

What is claimed is-- 1. The combination of a revoluble element having aperipheral spirally-disposed feedchannel, and a coaoting cutter disposedagainst one side of said revoluble element, to retain fruit in saidchannel until it reaches the discharge end thereof and cut off theprojecting stems of the fruit during its passage through the channel,said cutter comprising a plurality of transversely-disposed bars spacedapart and having cutting edges, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a revoluble element having a peripheralspirally-disposed feedchannel, and a coaoting cutting element, to retainfruit in said channel until it reaches the discharge end thereof and cutoif the projecting stems of the fruit during its passage through thechannel, said cutter comprising a plurality of transversely-disposedbars spaced apart and having cutting edges, and means to move one ofsaid elements longitudinally, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a revoluble element having a peripheralspirally-disposed feedchannel, and a coaoting cutter disposed againstone side of said revoluble element, to retain fruit in said channeluntil it reaches the discharge end thereof and cut ofi the pro jectingstems of the fruit during its passage through the channel, said cuttercompris ing a plurality of transversely-disposed bars spaced apart andhaving cutting edges, and means to impart reciprocatory longitudinalmovement to one of said elements, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a revoluble element having a peripheralspirally-disposed feedchannel, a coaoting cutter disposed against oneside of said revoluble element, to retain fruit in said channel until itreaches the discharge end thereof and cut off the projecting stems ofthe fruit during its passage through the channel, said cutter comprisinga plurality of transversely-disposed bars spaced apart and havingcutting edges, and means to feed fruit to the channel, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a feedelement having a feedchannel open on one side, and a coaoting cuttingelement disposed against the open side of said channel, one of saidelements being movable to urge fruit through the channel, said cuttercomprising a plurality of transversely-disposed bars spaced apart andhaving cutting edges, whereby the projecting stems of the fruit will becut off, substantially as described.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a feedelement, having a feedchannel open on one side, a coaoting cuttingelement disposed against the open side of said feed-channel, said cuttercomprising a plurality of transverse]y-disposed bars spaced apart andhaving cutting edges, and means to move one of said elements so thatsaid cutting element crosses said channel, to cut off fruit-stemsprojecting therefrom, substantially as described.

7. A stemming-machine, comprising a frame, a rotatable spiralfeed-roller mounted thereon, a reciprocatory bowed cutting deviceembracing the feed-roller, means for operating the feed-roller, and anoperative connection between the feed-roller and the cut ting device forreciprocating the latter.

8. A stemmingmachine, comprising an open substantially horizontal frame,an intermediate longitudinal spiral feed-roller rotatably mounted withinthe frame, a reciprocatory cutting device embracing the lower side ofthe roller and slidably mounted upon the frame, a removable coverembracing the top of the roller and carried by the cutting device, atransverse shaft mounted upon the frame and having opposite terminalcrankarms, connecting-links between the crankarms and the cuttingdevice, and an operative connection between the shaft and thefeed-roller.

9. In a stem ming-machine, the combination with a rotatable spiral feeddevice, of a reciprocatory cutting device embracing the feed device andhaving a plurality of bowed outting-bars provided with cutting edges.

10. In a stemming-machine, the combination with a frame, of a rotatablespiralfeed In testimony that I claim the foregoing as] device, and" areciprocatory cutting device, my own Ihaveheretoaifixedmy signature incomprising a knife-frame having opposite the presence of two witnesses.

flanges slidably mounted upon the frame, and J AMES A. NORTH, 5transverse bowed. knife-bars embracing one Witnesses:

side of the feed device and having their op- EMANUEL YREAM,

posite edges beveled to cuttingedges. GEORGE G. DAUGHERTY.

